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New Neighbor Problems

14K views 77 replies 50 participants last post by  George Fergusson 
#1 ·
Renters moved in next door about 5 weeks ago. The lady found out about my bees about 2 weeds ago. She is petrified of my bees and wants them gone. She says they are “all over” in her backyard (my roommate counted about eight that flew over in a couple minuets note I said over her back yard not in her back yard). She won’t let her daughter out to play in fear that her daughter may be allergic to bee stings. She had her husband spray the fence with bee repellent in an attempt to keep them out. The bees (2 hives) are on the other side of my yard with respect to her house with a six foot wooden fence between the yards. I have looked and there is no reason that I can see for the bees to be in her yard . . . no flowers or water to speak of. I put out some water near the hives to make sure they are not going over there for water. I was out of town when she complained to my roommate so I’m going over tonight to talk it over with her. I am a new beekeeper and I’m looking for some help on this one. What do I tell her? How do I calm the nerves of this woman? Are there any hand outs made up to give to your neighbors to inform them about bees and bee behavior? Should I make a compromise and tell her if her or her child get stung I’ll remove the hives or should I be hard nosed and tell her that I am within the law? Any ideas or experience with this could help me out. Thanks in advance.
 
#53 ·
Here's a good tactic - buy some latticework
at your local home-improvement center, and
erect a barrier 4 to 6 feet from the fronts
of the hive entrances. This will prompt the
bees to seek a higher altitude upon taking flight,
one that they will maintain as they fly here
and there. Most people will not notice a bee
unless it is flying at eye level or below.
If their yard has nothing of interest to bees,
they will land elsewhere, stay above head
height when flying over the yard in question.

> stepped on some bees that had a hive in the
> ground and got stung so many times that now
> is deathly allergic

As you well know, that's not how it works.
Someone stepping on a colony in the ground
(bumblebees, yellowjackets) might have a
NORMAL reaction to a dozen stings, but this
is simply a function of the number of stings,
and would not make the person allergic.

If someone were to tell me that they were
allergic to insect stings, I would ask them
where their Epi-Pen was. When they stuttered
and stammered, I would ask them to stop lying,
as any actual allergic person would carry an
Epi-Pen with them at all times, on doctor's
orders. I would also ask them for the name
of the doctor who treats them for this allergy.
The point here is to expose the lie.

No Epi-Pen, no actual allergy.

> She then informed me new of “private”
> individuals that could take care of this matter.

As there clearly is no private party with the
legal ability to do this, that was a threat to
hire someone to poison or vandalize your hives,
or perhaps do violence to you and your family.

Given her statements, I would contact her landlord
and give a brief, unemotional, and even-handed
report on the interactions you have had with her,
just to let him know that his tenant has
threatened you, your family, and your bees in
a vague, yet mafia-like manner.

I would also contact the cops, and report the
threats to them. Such threats are a criminal
act in themselves, and she needs to be slapped
down hard and made aware that things like
trespass and vandalism are crimes. It is a
general "good idea" to be the first one to
report a problem to the cops. This puts you
in the position of being the "potential victim"
rather than putting you in a defensive position.

Most likely, her idea is to have her husband spray
the hives themselves rather than the fence.
It won't work of course, but it would be bad for
the hives to lose that many bees. Time to
padlock the gates to the back yard. Sad.

While you are at the home improvement store,
buy the smallest weatherproof electrical enclosure
they offer, and glue a plastic shotglass to the
side of the case. Paint the sides of the
shotglass to look like a camera lens, mount it
in an easy-to-see location near the hives,
"pointed" at the hives. The idea here is to
create a bogus, but realistic-looking "security
camera". Extra credit would be awarded for
putting an LED powered by a battery (stop off at
Radio Shack for them) in the body of the case for
that extra-special "big brother is watching"
effect, as everyone "knows" that the red light
means that the camera is "on".


We have a security system here at Farmageddon
as it gives us a serious discount on insurance.
Fully 3/4 of the "cameras" are dummy units.
The dummy units even "pan" back and forth, as
they have small solar panels on top, hooked
to a drive motor inside.
 
#54 ·
Chef, your homeowner’s insurance should cover you in a lawsuit and provide an attorney as long as it is truly a hobby and not a side business. If you have two hives and sell the honey, is it a hobby or a side business to your insurance company? If someone does get stung and goes to the emergency room because of fear, you will likely end up in small claims court. The burden of proof is on her that it was a bee and that it was your bee.

The private individual remark sounds like a veil threat to me, but is most likely an idle one. If you find your hive dead, you will know who did it though.

She may be a nut case and it is always hard to know how to deal with them. Do you say hello or wave when you see them or do you ignore them? Depending upon the individual saying hello might set them off. I would keep the hives as low key as possible and not work them when they are outside. Expect to get a few visits from the animal control officer like I did. After they have been out three or four times they will not be very responsive to her phone calls.

Hope she doesn’t turn into a first class loony. I had an old lady down the street from me, before bees, that called the police on me monthly. Had stories that my whole family including my infant son broke into her house and took things. Then we would return them or move window curtains. She would even put notes on the neighbor doors saying that I was a drug dealer and in jail. Before me, it was the gay couple next door to her. She claimed one of the guys would get on her roof and dance at night, but you get the picture. If she is that type there is nothing you can do because you are already in her cross-hairs.


Jim, does have good advice on this. I would think hard about following it.
 
#55 ·
I have also had people tell me that they were allergic to bee stings because they swell up, and we all know that is normal for most people, truely allergic people(like jfisher) said carry a epi-peen.

I think it is mostly ignorance on the general public to think that swelling is an allergic reaction.
 
#56 ·
Do you know her landlord? Do you have a good relationship with him/her? If so, I would talk to them, (the landlord) mention the epipen issue, (if she doesn't have one, and everyone is so allergic, she is the negligent one)and the bee hysteria. See if the landlord has any suggestions. Otherwise, don't engage in any further discussion with that woman. She doesn't sound rational, and anything you say to her will make it worse. Be civil if you see her, but do not discuss bees. If you can lock up your yard, that would be good-anything to keep your hives safe from her. Keep a camera ready, and if you catch her or anyone else in your yard for any reason, take photos and notify the authorities. You are within your rights, and she needs to grow up. As long as she can't see your hives everytime she goes into her backyard, things may die down. If she is that irrational, most likely someting else will get her going soon, and she will forget the bees. Just do not get into a confrontation with her. I would also really hesitate to offer an epi pen in an emergency. That would probably garantee a lawsuit. That's what 911 is for. I wouldn't even have one available.
Good Luck
 
#57 ·
I live with a cop. You need to file something with the police department in the event something does happen to your hives. Just go down there and ask to file an incident report so it's on file and if something does happen later on then it's there.

If she does manage to have someone vandalize your equipment then when you try to blame them, the police detective will ask you why you didn't file a report when she threatened you to begin with.

You have to do everything you can to cover your arse. Even if her threats are idle. You already know she's lying about the ordinances. She's probably also lying about the allergies, though we don't really know.

And while I am a good neighbor and all that, I keep my bees in a remote area of my yard and only work the hives during the weekdays when I know they aren't around and I'm not attracting their attention.

I wouldn't bother the landlord unless you have to, he's not going to give a rat's ass most of the time.
 
#58 ·
Amy is right. I was a cop for eight years. you need to file a report. If you ever have a need to speak with her landlord, mention the report. That gives him enough reason to evict her if he wants. It's a standard clause in rental contracts.

Also You want to be the one to report it first. AS much as it hurts to agree with Jim F. on something the first person who is listed as "Victim" is generally considered the one who asked the police for help. And that's why they became cops. To help people.

Hawk
 
#60 ·
You SEE!!! I knew my response was the correct one. LOL Now that you have tried MR. NICEGUY it's time to play hardball. I like the idea of filing a report with the police. I also Love J.F. suggestion on a camera. You wouldn't even have to make a fake one, you can buy "fake" ones. My concern would be if your hives are closer than 30 ft from the fence line she will be able to hit your hive with one of those Hornet and wasp sprays that spray a long distance. Good luck friend, stick to your guns.
 
#68 ·
I hope I am not beating a dead horse, but education of neighbors is important. The out of sight out of mind philosophy sounds good too.

As I continue to convert my boring St. Augustine lawn into a useful edible/flowering landscape to be eventually devoid of St. Augustine or any lawn grass, I have noticed a dramatic increase of all types of bees in my expanding gardens from honeybees to numerous other bees, wasps not to mention butterflies and ruby-throated hummingbirds.

Many of my neighbors stop and check out the main gardens in my front yard. While looking at the explosion of flowering shrubs, herbs, and vines, they ask if I am afraid of being stung by all of the bees. I say no. I explain that if you don't screw with them, they won't screw with you. I have all types of bees around me when maintaining the gardens (deadheading, planting, trimming) and have yet to be stung. I tell my neighbors that once a bee stings, it will die and I am sure the bee knows this. Stinging is simply a defense reaction to protect their hive. Just leave the bees alone and they won't bother you. I also tell them not to swat at them.

I also mention that while working along the US-Mexican border, many times Africanized honeybees land on me and lick the sweat off my body or cruise in my direction, being attracted by my bright orange field vest. I don't screw with the Africanized bees and they don't screw with me. It is a bit un-nerving to have a dozen killer bees lapping sweat off my arms. I am more concerned about running into AK-47 toting drug runners in the desert than bees OR venemous snakes.

By next spring when I install my first hive, I will have a large water garden operating in the back yard near the hive, a small water feature in the front, and at least a hundred more flowering shrubs, vines, and herbs in addition to vegetables. The hive should have a hefty buffet to keep them happy.

One suggestion is to "bribe" your neighbors with fruits and vegetables from your gardens besides honey. My intensive gardening practice already creates a massive abundance of organically grown vegetables, fruits, and culinary herbs. The last two weeks I've already harvested 10 cantaloupes and a ton of peppers, cucumbers, zuchinni, carrots, and African winter sqaush. I regularly keep all of my neighbors well bribed with homegrown produce.

North Leighton Gardens
 
#70 ·
find several drones and put them in your mouth while she watches. wait, dont' do that. just explain they are gentle italians, walk up to the hive without your suit while not touching it, get so close you can demonstrate they are gentle and tell her beehives are all around anyway, and if you remove the domestic hives...nature abhors a vacume...wild nasty ones will move in, probably africans....
 
#73 ·
If you guys are going that route, do it right. I would just pinch one lightly, like picking up a queen, then set her on my forearm and let the lady see her sting me. It will either make her think they don't hurt like the wild bees, or it will gross her out so far she will never return.

I love doing that when I really want to get someone's attention.
 
#75 ·
Well I bit the bullet and went to talk to my new neighbor tonight. It was way worse than I thought. .... So I gave her my Beekeeping for Dummies book.

Ooooo - hope she doesn't misunderstand that one! I think she possibly has looked into something called "Privete nuisance" law. I wonder of other lawyers here if beekeeping could be considered an "inherently dangerous activity" like blasting with explosives for example, which is the generally recognized standard for IDA.

and by the way, who ever suggested writing "honey is good" in her grass with "roundup" shame on you! and the guy that said you should use her mail box as a three frame nuc, that's terrible!
 
#76 ·
Here in the "beehive" state, there are no laws against keeping bees. However, the Utah version of the nuisance law is all that's required to cause you move your bees. So far, no problems here, but I've been lucky. One neighbor is a cop working nights that sleeps all day. Another is an 84 year old woman that thinks the more I piss off the rest of the neighborhood, the more fun it is. Even so, I try to keep a low profile.
 
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